Turkey blames Israel for campaign against spy chief

Turkish officials have denied claims by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius that Turkey leaked the names of Israeli spies to Iranian intelligence, saying Israel was likely behind the disclosure.

Turkish intelligence officials have been quick to deny claims by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius that Ankara disclosed the names of a group of Israeli spies to Iranian authorities.

Ignatius said that Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation had given Iranian intelligence the names of 10 Iranians who had been in contact with Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad, upon the orders of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan.

“We see this media campaign as an attack and there might be an Israeli effort behind it,” a Turkish intelligence source told Hurriyet. “Especially after the Washington Post story on Oct. 17 and the follow-ups with Jerusalem bylines.”

The story was based on “knowledgeable sources” without providing details of the leak while noting that Israel had seen Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkish intelligence (pictured above), as someone who had “friendly links with Tehran”.